Google Pixel was up there with the best phones of 2016, which is pretty good going when you consider it was the search engine giant’s first proper foray into the world of mobile phones. The unique selling point of the Google Pixel is undoubtedly its camera, which is still the best of any phone. With pictures that are unmatched by even the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the LG G6, this has proved to be extremely appealing for many snap happy consumers.

The downside is that Google Pixel lacks many of the features we now take for granted. But that’s not to say the Google Pixel doesn’t have a few features of its own. Here are 8 Google Pixel features you might not know about...

Remove duplicate photos

If you decide the Google Pixel is the phone for you, the chances are you’re going to be taking plenty of pics. Google Photos includes a useful shortcut that allows you to ‘long press’ the Photos icon from the home screen and bring up the option to ‘free up space’. Choose that option and the app will find duplicate photos already saved on Google Photos that you can delete to free up more space.

Get a new wallpaper every day

They say a change is as good as a rest and Google Pixel makes it easy to keep things fresh with a feature that’ll automatically update your wallpaper every 24 hours. For example, if you like nothing better than a nice cityscape, head to Settings > Display > Wallpapers > Cityscapes and you can wake up to a new city every day.

Turn your notification light on

When you need some quiet time, simply turn on the Pixel’s notification light to remind you there are notifications to deal with. The notification light is turned off by default, so this is a feature you could easily not know you had. Simply head to Settings > Notifications then hit the gear icon and turn on the ‘pulse notification light’.

Enter split screen mode

If you’re the sort of person who’s all action on their phone, split screen mode allows you to view two apps at a time (as long as the apps support it). To access split screen mode, hold down the square menu button once the app is open and your screen will magically split in half. You can then choose the second app you want to share screen time with.

Avoid spam callers

One particularly handy Google Pixel feature is the ability to receive additional information whenever you receive a call from an unknown number. Turning on the Caller ID and Spam feature within the dialer helps you decide which calls to answer and which to ignore.

Around the clock customer support

If you are experiencing an issue with your Pixel phone, you can head to the Settings menu and launch a chat session or voice call with a member of Google’s customer services team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also allow screen sharing so Google’s experts can take control of your device and show you the fix.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant, Google’s answer to Siri and Alexa, is more capable than its predecessor Google Now and can tap into third-party apps like WhatsApp to keep you in the know. You can even test your general knowledge by asking Google Assistant to “play Lucky Trivia”. You will be asked a series of relatively taxing questions that you answer by voice.

Get a briefing about your day

One of the best Google Pixel features is ‘My Day’, part of Google Assistant. Give the voice command “OK Google, tell me about my day”, and you will receive a briefing about the news, weather, traffic and more. You can customise the information you receive based on what is relevant to you. To do that, navigate to Settings > My Day within Assistant to pick and choose what you want to hear.

Although there are undoubtedly some excellent Google Pixel features, in our view, it is the whole package and the speed and smoothness of Android which makes this such an excellent phone.

Do you own a Google Pixel phone? Please share your favourite features and your overall experience of the phone in the comments section below.